Every morning TheScore.ie brings you the stories you need to know before that first cup of coffee.
1. #ON THE PLANE Giovanni Trapattoni announced the 23 players who will make up his Euro 2012 squad at the Aviva yesterday.
The one major surprise was the absence of Wigan Athletic midfielder James McCarthy, who has opted not to travel to Poland due to his father’s illness. Sunderland’s exciting prospect James McClean did make the final panel, however. See the full list here.
2.#SNOOKER Ronnie O’Sullivan clinched his fourth World Championship title at the Crucible last night, beating Ali Carter 18-11 in the final. The 37-year-old has revealed that he will now take a six month break from competing but rubbished speculation that he is set to retire from the sport.
3.RELEGATED Blackburn Rovers were the second team to confirm they will be competing in the Npower Championship next season after losing out 1-0 to Wigan last night. Antonio Alcaraz’s late header resigned Steve Kean’s side to relegation along with Wolves, meaning there is just one final spot to be filled in the bottom three.
West Ham, meanwhile, booked their place in the promotion play-off by seeing off Cardiff with a 3-0 win. They will meet the winner of Birmingham and Blackpool, who hold a 1-0 lead going into tonight’s second leg.
4. #YOU AGAIN Just three days after their FA Cup final meeting, Liverpool and Chelsea will go head-to-head at Anfield tonight. The Pensioners won out 2-1 in the Wembley showcase with goals from Ramires and Didier Drogba and will again be without David Luiz and Gary Cahill as Roberto Di Matteo looks to secure fourth spot in the Premier League.
5.#GIRO D’ITALIA Matthew Goss won stage three of the Giro D’Italia on Monday by edging Juan Jose Heado and Tyler Farrar in an exciting sprint finish. It was the Australian’s second Giro stage win of his career but the day didn’t go so well for Mark Cavendish, who was involved in an accident with Taylor Phinney close to the finish line.
